Return to home1960 Jan, The
San Francisco Examiner (a Hearst newspaper) offered Kenneth Rexroth
(1905-1982) a job writing a weekly column. He accepted and by May
1961 the column had proved popular enough that he was asked to do
two and sometimes even three per week. Rexroth wrote some 700
columns for the Examiner until June 1967, when he was fired after
writing a particularly scathing article about the American police.
(www.bopsecrets.org/rexroth/sfe/)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Rexroth)

1960 Feb 3, Candlestick Park,
the new home of the SF Giants baseball team, was officially turned
over to the team.
(SFEC,12/797, Z1 p.4)(SSFC, 1/31/10, DB p.42)

1960 Feb, In San Francisco the
Villa Taverna restaurant opened at No. 27 Hotaling as a private
social club to celebrate Italian culture and cuisine. The street was
originally called Jones Alley and had been renamed in honor of Anson
Hotaling, owner of a nearby distillery, who convinced firefighters
in 1906 not to explode nearby structures.
(SSFC, 9/13/09, p.N1)

1960 Apr 12, The SF Giants made
their opening day debut in the new Candlestick stadium before 42,000
fans. The stadium was built by Charles Harney (d.1962), a friend of
Mayor Christopher, who also sold 41 acres to the city at $66,853 per
acre. He had purchased the land just a few years earlier at $2,100
per acre. Harney received $7 million for building the stadium and
was named director of the corporation set up to build the stadium.
The stadium was designed by architect John S. Boles. A radiant
heating system for the 2nd tier seats failed to work.
(SFC, 5/3/01, p.A8)(SFC, 4/10/10, DB p.50)(SFC,
12/21/13, p.C2)

1960 Apr 27, France’s Gen.
Charles de Gaulle flew into San Francisco and was welcomed by a
21-gun salute and some 250,000 people along his downtown motorcade.
(SSFC, 4/25/10, DB p.54)

1960 Apr, In San Francisco the
new 12-story Jack Tar Hotel opened on Van Ness Avenue. It featured a
2-acre 4th floor patio with a circular swimming pool and rectangular
year-round ice rink. In 1982 it was sold, remodeled and renamed as
the Cathedral Hotel. In 2009 it was slated for demolition to make
way for a new California Pacific Medical Center to open in 2015.
Demolition began in late 2013.
(SFC, 10/31/09, p.C1)(SFC, 11/19/13, p.D1)

1960 May 13, Bill Mandel was
brought before a House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC)
committee at SF City Hall concerning his broadcasts at KPFA radio
and KQED TV about press and periodicals of the Soviet Union. His TV
show was canceled but he continued broadcasting at KPFA. The 3-day
event led Frank Cieciorka (1939-2008) to create his woodcut of a
fist that became an icon of the 1960s. The film “Operation
Abolition" was later made depicting the riots. The ACLU called the
film a propaganda job.
(http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2501072550238174626#)(SFEC,
9/29/96, DB p.44)(SFEC, 7/26/98, p.D1,4)(SFEC, 3/21/99, Z1
p.4)(SFEC, 5/23/99, Z1 p.1)(SSFC, 6/9/02, p.F3)(SFC, 11/29/08,
p.B5)(SSFC, 2/6/11, DB p.42)(SFC, 1/7/17, p.C1)

1960 May 14, Some 2-5,000
people marched against the HUAC proceedings at San Francisco’s City
Hall and police actions against protestors. More than 300 protesters
were hosed down at City Hall as 400 police in riot gear arrived. 68
protesters were arrested.
(SFEC, 5/23/99, Z1 p.1)(SSFC, 6/9/02, p.F3)(SFC,
1/21/17, p.C1)(SFC, 2/4/17, p.C1)

1960 Jun, A SF judge dismissed
all charges against all 68 of the people arrested May 13 at the HUAC
protests.
(SSFC, 6/9/02, p.F3)(SFC, 2/4/17, p.D1)

1960 Sep 13, VP Richard Nixon
campaigned in San Francisco and 40,000 came to Union Square as he
promised to keep the US military as the strongest in the world.
(SSFC, 9/12/10, DB p.50)

1960 Nov 30, In San Francisco
demolition began of the old Fontana spaghetti factory on North Point
Street. It will be replaced by twin 17-story towers, the Fontana
East and Fontana West, each with 130 apartments. The old warehouse,
built between 1868 and 1870, was first used as a woolen mill and
converted to a spaghetti factory around the turn of the century.
(SSFC, 11/28/10, DB p.50)

1960 Dec 10, The San Francisco
Chronicle reported that a third of a million fifths of an exotic
moonshine, known as bok chow, were being distilled in Chinatown. A
recent raid at 1555 Mason St. gave up 22 gallons.
(SSFC, 12/5/10, DB p.50)

1960 Sargent Johnson
(1888-1967), African-American artist in SF, made his diorite "Rape."
(SFEC, 4/12/98, DB p.43)
1960 Marilyn Horne made her SF
Opera debut with "Wozzeck."
(SFEC, 8/17/97, DB p.44)
1960 Herb Caen, SF newspaper
columnist, wrote his 6th book "Only in San Francisco."
(SFEC, 2/2/97, p.A13)
1960 Turk Murphy and pianist
Pete Clute (d.2001 at 67) opened the Earthquake McGoon’s club on
lower Broadway. In 1962 they moved to the old William Tell Hotel on
Clay St. In 1978 McGoon’s move briefly to the Embarcadero.
(SFC, 5/30/01, p.A17)
1960 In San Francisco the
three-story Days Inn at 465 Grove St. was built.
(SSFC, 12/13/15, p.C12)
1960 In San Francisco the
20-story Pacific Height Towers, designed by John Sardis, was built
at 2200 Sacramento St.
(SSFC, 6/8/14, p.C3)
1960 In San Francisco the
22-story Int’l. Building at 601 California St. was built.
(SSFC, 2/17/13, p.C2)
1960 Cruz Luna opened Casa
Madrid and featured a flamenco show with Rosa Montoya, her partner
Ciro and guitarist Adonis Puertas, all gypsies from Spain.
(SFEC,10/26/97, DB p.41)
1960 In San Francisco work was
finished on a subterranean parking garage under Civic Center Plaza.
Architect Douglas Baylis was hired to design the rooftop deck. The
garage opened in 1961.
(SFC, 8/15/12, p.F3)
1960 The new Hall of Justice on
Bryant St. was constructed and included Jail No. 2.
(SFC, 6/4/99, p.A18)
1960 Gladys Cox Hansen founded
City Guides, a program to involve the citizens of SF with the
history of their city.
(SFC, 4/14/96, p.Z1, p.3)
1960 George Koltanowski, chess
column writer for the SF Chronicle, set a world record when he
defeated 56 opponents consecutively while blindfolded.
(SFC, 2/7/00, p.A21)
1960 The Oakland Raiders began
play in the fledgling American Football League at Youell Field,
Kezar Stadium and the new Candlestick Park.
(SFEC, 3/1/98, p.W39)
1960 FBI director J. Edgar
Hoover ordered San Francisco FBI Richard Auerbach to put together a
report on the involvement of the Communist party in the anti-HUAC
protests in San Francisco. The report was titled: “Project:
Revolution in San Francisco" and said Communists had manipulated
students into engaging in the riots. Hoover used the report as the
basis for an 18-page booklet titled: Communist Target – Youth:
Communist Infiltration and Agitation Tactics." HUAC meanwhile
released a 42-minute documentary titled: Operation Abolition."
Numerous errors were found in the film.
(SFC, 2/4/17, p.C2)
1960 Harold Dobbs (1918-1994)
served as acting mayor of San Francisco. A close political ally of
Mayor George Christopher, Dobbs served on several occasions as
Acting Mayor in Christopher's absence and was considered heir
apparent to the mayor's office. In 1963 Dobbs lost his first run for
mayor in a three-way race behind Congressman Jack Shelley.
(www.sfhistoryencyclopedia.com/articles/d/dobbsHarold.html)
1960 SF voters approved a new
Asian Art Museum.
(SFC, 4/22/00, p.A19)
1960 Only 6 black officers were
part of the 1,700 member police force.
(SFC, 10/7/97, p.A23)
1960 The musicians union was
segregated until this year. The all-white Local 6 agreed to merge
with the black Local 669.
(SFEC, 2/8/98, DB p.34)
1960 SF State College became
one of several under a state Master Plan for Higher Education.
(SFEC, 3/21/99, Z1 p.4)
1960 Julian Richardson (d.2000
at 84) opened his "Marcus Bookstore" on Fillmore Street.
(SFC, 8/22/00, p.A19)
1960s Herbert Huncke, beat poet, lived a short
while in SF with the poet Janine Pommy-Vega.
(SFC, 8/9/96, p.A19)

1961 Jan 6, in San Francisco a
fire swept through the buck-a-night Thomas Hotel at 971 Mission St.
killing 19 people and injuring 38.
(SSFC, 1/2/11, p.42)

1961 Jan 10,
Dashiell Hammett (66), author, died in NYC from throat cancer.
In 1983 Diane Johnson authored his biography. His books included
“The Maltese Falcon" and “The Thin Man," both of which were turned
into films. He wrote “The Maltese Falcon" while living in San
Francisco at 891 Post St., which was also given as the address of
detective Sam Spade.
(www.imdb.com/name/nm0358591/)(SFC, 6/7/04, p.C2)
1961 Jan 10, In San Francisco a
25-foot grey whale died after getting trapped under Pier 50C at
Mission Rock Terminal. Humane officers fired soft-nosed and armor
piercing bullets into its skull to try to put the animal out of its
misery.
(SSFC, 1/9/11, DB p.42)

1961 Mar 15, In San Francisco a
12-ton statue of St. Francis, created by Benny Bufano, was removed
from the front of St. Francis of Assisi Church at 610 Vallejo St.
and taken to Oakland.
(SSFC, 3/13/11, DB p.42)

1961 Mar 27, In San Francisco
the hiring of the city’s first Negro milk route driver precipitated
name calling an argument between Mayor George Christopher and Terry
Francois, head of the local NAACP. The mayor said Teamsters Local
226 would not let Negroes into the union. Christopher, owner of
Christopher Dairy Farms, had hired William Garrick (24) to run a
route in South San Francisco serving schools and restaurants.
(SSFC, 3/27/11, DB p.42)

1961 Apr 3, In San Francisco
thousands of people took part in the 39th Easter Sunrise Service on
Mount Davidson.
(SSFC, 4/3/11, DB p.46)

1961 Apr 18, In San Francisco
the trial of UC student Robert Meisenbach opened. He was charged
with attacking a police officer during the May, 1960, protests
against the HUAC hearings in the city. It was revealed that the
charges against him were false and a jury returned a verdict of not
guilty in less than three hours.
(SFC, 2/4/17, p.C2)

1961 Apr 30, Willie Mays of the
SF Giants hit 4 home runs in a game with the Milwaukee Braves.
(SFC, 1/12/98, p.A18)

1961 May 28, SF lawyer Willie
Brown (27) charged that he has been rebuffed by salesmen while
trying to look at a model home in the Forest Knolls tract of San
Francisco.
(SSFC, 5/29/11, DB p.46)

1961 Jun, Margot Patterson Doss
(d.2003) in her 1st SF Chronicle column invited the public to look
behind the gates of Fort Funston, slated to be sold to developers.
The fort was saved and became part of the GGNRA.
(SFC, 1/17/03, p.A20)

1961 Aug 2, In San Francisco a
shooting at 924 Grant Ave. in Chinatown left George Kwan (56) dead
and Peter Kwan (52) wounded. They were both members of the Four
Families Association. Lew Fook You (55), also an association member,
was taken into custody.
(SSFC, 7/31/11, DB p.42)

1961 Aug 14, SF vice squad
stage an early morning raid at a restaurant at Bush and Taylor and
jailed 103 people. All but 14 were men accused of dancing together
and kissing. Of 242 patrons 139 escaped.
(SSFC, 8/14/11, DB p.42)

1961 Sep 14, SF vice squad
stage an early morning raid at the Tay-Bush Inn, a restaurant at
Bush and Taylor, and jailed 103 people. All but 14 were men accused
of dancing together and kissing. Of 242 patrons 139 escaped. Police
arrested 103 of an estimated 242 patrons in the “biggest action of
its kind." Charges against all but 2 of those arrested were later
dropped (1st source says August 14).
(SSFC, 8/14/11, DB p.42)(SFC, 6/21/13, p.C3)

1961 Oct 4, In San Francisco
comedian Lenny Bruce was arrested on charges of using lewd and
obscene language following his first act at the Jazz Workshop in
North Beach. Police code No. 205 was cited. Bail was set at $367.50.
Bruce was successfully defended by attorney Albert Bendich.
(SSFC, 10/2/11, DB p.42)(SFC, 1/14/15, p.D3)

1961 Oct 8, In San Francisco
Rev. Patrick Peyton, who traveled the world holding what he called
“Rosary Rallies," led a rosary at the polo field of Golden Gate Park
and drew an estimated crowd of 500,000. In 2011 some 1,000 people
celebrated the rally’s 50th anniversary.
(SSFC, 10/16/11, p.C9)

1961 Dec 27, Tony Bennett,
starring in the Venetian Room of the SF Fairmont Hotel, made his 1st
solo public performance of “I Left My Heart in San Francisco."
The song was written by George Cory and Douglass Cross in 1954 and
had languished in obscurity for years.
(SSFC, 2/4/07, p.F1)(SFC, 1/25/12, p.A11)(SFC,
2/16/12, p.A13)

1961 Joan Sutherland made her
SF Opera debut in "Lucia di Lammermoor."
(SFEC, 8/17/97, DB p.44)
1961 In San Francisco
construction began on the Diamond Heights development project.
(SFC, 4/17/13, p.E5)
1961 San Francisco dug an
underpass at Fillmore and Geary St. turning Geary into an 8-lane
expressway. In 2014 a plan was afoot to restore Geary to its former
boulevard status.
(SFC, 2/6/14, p.A1)
1961 In SF the two curved,
17-story Fontana Towers were built over Aquatic Park by Robert D.
Fraser (d.2000 at 80). The construction blocked view from Russian
Hill. City officials slapped a 40-foot height limit along the
waterfront.
(SFC, 10/22/04, p.A20)(SSFC, 4/27/08, p.B3)
1961 The Standard Building
Company began a housing development called Forest Knolls on the
western slope of Mt. Sutro. The homes were not available for black
buyers and the issue prompted protests led by Willie Brown. City
Hall under Mayor George Christopher did not move to evict the
protestors who included Oscar Peterson and Diane Berman (later
Feinstein).
(SFEM, 11/17/96, p.9-10)
1961 The SF Fairmont Hotel
added a 29-story addition at the corner of Powell and Sacramento.
Owners in 2005 planned to turn it into 60 condominiums.
(SFC, 7/21/05, p.E1)
1961 The Hall of Flowers was
built in Goldengate Park. It was renamed the County Fair Building in
the 1980s.
(SFC, 7/29/97, p.A7)
1961 In San Francisco Alex
Esclamado (1929-2012) founded the Philippine News out of his Sunset
District family home. In 1972 it became a megaphone for those
opposing the rule of Pres. Marcos. In 1989 Esclamado received the
Philippine Legion of Honor crediting his defense of democracy.
(SFC, 11/16/12, p.C6)
1961 The SF Wallace Alexander
Gerbode Foundation was founded by Martha Alexander Gerbode, a
descendant of a New England missionary family.
(SFC, 4/30/98, p.A16)
1961 SF established a hotel tax
under Mayor Christopher to be used for cultural activities.
(SFC,12/9/97, p.E3)
1961 Frederick D. Smith (d.2001
at 84), former Tuskegee Airman, joined the city’s Office of Public
Defender as its 1st black member.
(SFC, 4/27/01, p.D8)
1961 In San Francisco new
policemen were being hired for $591 per month with periodic raises
up to $641 at the end of four years. Requirements this year included
the ability to lift a 150-pound bag of sand.
(SSFC, 10/23/11, p.42)
1961 The old SF Mint was
declared a National Historic Landmark.
(SSFC, 1/28/03, p.E6)
1961 Dave Karp (1916-2015)
purchased the venerable Cole Street Hardware store near Golden Gate
Park. By 2015 the family-owned chain numbered 4 SF stores and one in
Oakland.
(SSFC, 6/10/12, p.A2)(SSFC, 11/1/15, p.C11)

1961-1973 Raymond Nilsson (d.1998 at 82) of
Australia performed with the SF Opera as the leading tenor.
(SFC, 4/20/98, p.A17)

1962 Jan 21, Snow fell in the
SF Bay Area and accumulated to about 3 inches in Daly City and San
Francisco. This was the heaviest local snowfall since 1887.
(SFC, 2/23/11, p.A10)(SSFC, 1/22/12, DB p.42)

1962 Jan 27, The SF Bay Area
hosted the Chubby Checker Twist Party at the Cow Palace. 17,000 fans
made it the 1st big rock concert in Bay Area history.
(SFC, 1/26/02, p.D1)

1962 Mar 2, Willie Brown won
the endorsement of the SF Council of Democratic Clubs.
(SFEM, 11/17/96, p.17)

1962 Mar 23, Pres. John F.
Kennedy visited San Francisco and spoke at UC Berkeley on the 100th
anniversary of the Morrill Act. “For this university and so many
other universities across our country owe their birth to the most
extraordinary piece of legislation this country has ever adopted,
and that is the Morrill Act, signed by President Abraham Lincoln in
the darkest and most uncertain days of the Civil War, which set
before the country the opportunity to build the great land grant
colleges of which this is so distinguished a part. Six years later
this university obtained its Charter."
(http://tinyurl.com/6fbdog)

1962 Jul 23, In San Francisco a
10-ton granite and bronze monument to Robert Louis Stevenson was
returned to Portsmouth Square as the 800-car underground parking
garage was completed.
(SSFC, 7/22/12, DB p.42)

1962 Oct 12, Columbus Day
storms washed out the 1962 World Series game at Candlestick Park in
SF. A storm from the Gulf of Alaska took on moisture from Typhoon
Freda and caused 4 days of rainouts during the World series.
(SFCM, 9/25/05, p.4)(SFC, 11/3/12, p.A6)

1962 Oct 17, The SF Giants lost
to the NY Yankees 1-0 in the 7th game of the
World Series at Candlestick Park.
(SSFC, 10/14/12, DB p.46)

1962 Dec 11, In San Francisco
the L’Italia building at Stockton and Green fell under the wrecker’s
ball. The 45-year-old building had housed the largest
Italian-language newspaper this side of New York. The newspaper,
founded in 1886 had merged with the La Voce Popolo in 1939. It now
moved to new quarters at 70 Otis Street.
(SSFC, 12/9/12, DB p.46)

1962 Tony Bennett won his first
Grammy Award for “I Left My Heart in San Francisco," the record of
the year. It was the B side of a record that featured “Once Upon a
Time" on the A side.
(SFC, 1/25/12, p.A11)
1962 Seiji Ozawa made his debut
as guest conductor with the SF Symphony.
(SFEC, 8/17/97, DB p.44,45)
1962 The SF Symphony performed
the "Ode for Trumpet" by Walter Tolleson (d.1997 at 72).
(SFC,10/31/97, p.A24)
1962 Turk Murphy moved his jazz
band and Earthquake McGoon’s club to the old William Tell Hotel on
Clay St. In 1978 McGoon’s move briefly to the Embarcadero.
(SFC, 5/30/01, p.A17)
1962 The SF Ballet performed
its last season as the resident dance company of the SF Opera
Company.
(SFEC, 8/17/97, DB p.45)
1962 The film "Birdman of
Alcatraz" was released. It had been shot in the Bay Area.
(SFEC, 8/11/96, DB, p.39)
1962 San Francisco’s new Lowell
High School campus opened on 27 acres at Eucalyptus Drive off 19th
Avenue.
(SFC, 5/26/12, p.A9)
1962 SF Bay Area property
developer Joseph Eichler constructed a set of 2-story townhouses on
Amber Drive and Amethyst Way in SF.
(SSFC, 2/10/13, p.C4)
1962 The Palace of Fine Arts,
designed by Bernard Maybeck, was rebuilt in concrete.
(SFEC, 3/8/98, p.W30)
1962 The Gleneagles Golf Course
was built in McLaren Park by the San Francisco Recreation and Park
Dept. with a design by Jack Fleming.
(SSFC, 2/14/10, p.C1)
1962 Jack Early (d.1997 at 82),
urban conservationist, began working on the "Jack E. Early Park" at
the crest of Pfeiffer St. off Grant on the rocky ridge of Telegraph
Hill. He spent the rest of his life working on the mini-park. He was
a descendent of Gen’l. Jubal Early of the Confederate Army and a
classmate of Herb Caen in Sacramento.
(SFC, 1/2/98, p.C25)
1962 Shunryu Suzuki (aka Suzuki
Roshi), a Buddhist priest from Japan, together with his students
founded the San Francisco Zen Center out of a small temple in
Japantown. The group later moved to a brick building in Hayes Valley
designed by Julia Morgan.
(SFC, 3/12/12, p.A1)
1962 In San Francisco Bernard
Mayes (1929-2014), a gay British Episcopal worker-priest priest and
founding station manager of KQED, started the first suicide hotline
in the US.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Mayes)(SFC,
10/29/14, p.E11)
1962 Joseph Thomas McGucken
succeeded Archbishop Mitty as Archbishop of SF and served until
1977. McGucken was the city's 5th Catholic archbishop.
(SSFC, 7/27/03, p.A22)
1962 Franklin Mieuli
(1920-2010), SF Bay Area radio and TV producer, brought the Warriors
basketball team from Philadelphia to SF with superstar Wilt
Chamberlain. Mr. Mieuli and 32 partners purchased the Warriors from
Eddie Gottlieb for $850,000. The SF Warriors basketball team chose
the Cow Palace in Daly City, Ca., as its new arena. In 1986 Mieuli
sold his share in the team to Jim Fitzgerald for a reported $16-19
million.
(SFEC, 3/1/98, p.W39)(SFEC, 3/1/98, p.W29)(SFC,
2/28/08, p.A11)(SFC, 4/26/10, p.A8)
1962 Willie Brown was chosen as
"Man of the year" by the local Sun-Reporter, leading newspaper of
the black community, published by Dr. Carlton Goodlet.
(SFEM, 11/17/96, p.12)
1962 Mayor George Christopher
talked Contra Costa Supv. Joseph Silva into agreeing to let Contra
Costa voters vote on BART. Legislation required that 3 counties
participate in the BART project and up to that time only San
Francisco and Alameda Counties had agreed.
(SFC, 1/7/97, p.A19)
1962 SF levied a 3% tax on all
hotel rooms to support cultural activities. By 1997 the tax stood at
14%. A portion of the revenue was allocated to the SF Convention and
Visitors Bureau. The Bureau merged this year with Californians Inc.,
an advertising firm for SF and Northern and Central Ca.
(SFC,12/9/97, p.E3)(SFEC, 3/8/98, p.W43)
1962 Frank Morris, John Anglin
and Clarence Anglin escaped from Alcatraz and disappeared into the
SF Bay. Their fate was never resolved.
(SFC, 7/9/96, p.20)
1962 The government padlocked
Ann’s 400 Club in North Beach for nonpayment of taxes and owner Ann
Dee (1920-2005) was forced to sell.
(SSFC, 4/10/05, p.A17)
1962 The House of Bagels
introduced the bagel to San Francisco.
(SFC, 10/16/96, zz1 p.6)
1962 Transcontinental
Properties purchased the Mark Hopkins Hotel. John Philip Parsons
(1925-1996) became executive vice president and helped revive the
hotel.
(SFC, 10/14/96, p.A23)
1962 Manuel G. Bonilla (d.2006
at 85), USGS geologist, discovered and mapped an ancient fault in
San Francisco that ran from Cow Palace northwest to the sand dunes
of the Richmond district. It was named the City College of SF Fault.
(SFC, 2/23/06, p.B7)
1962 The 1891 St. Mary’s
Cathedral on Van Ness was destroyed by fire.
(SFC, 8/20/98, p.B4)

1963 Jan 2, In San Francisco a
gas pipeline leak at Nevada and Crescent Ave. in Bernal Heights
caused a blast that left 9 firefighters injured and led to heart
attack death of Battalion Chief Frank Lamey (63).
(SSFC, 6/26/11, p.A1, 16)

1963 Mar 21, The Alcatraz
federal prison island in San Francisco Bay was emptied of its last
inmates at the order of Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy.
(SFC, 6/29/96, p.E4)(SFC, 5/19/96,City Guide,
p.7)(SFC, 8/11/97, p.A12)(AP, 3/21/97)

1963 Apr 27, San Francisco real
estate developer Marvin L. Sheldon said he wants no negroes in any
of the homes he has built in Golden Gate Heights. He recently
rejected a $39,950 offer by Wilt Chamberlain, star of the San
Francisco Warriors, for a home.
(SSFC, 4/28/13, p.50)

1963 Jul 2, Juan Marichal (25),
pitcher for the SF Giants, dueled for 16 innings with Warren Spahn
(42), of the Milwaukee Braves in a 5-hour game at Candlestick.
Willie Mays hit the 428th pitch of the night over left field.
(www.nytimes.com/2008/07/02/sports/baseball/02nohit.html)

1963 Jul 26, In San Francisco
The Fly Trap restaurant at 73 Sutter St. closed to make room for the
43-story Wells Fargo Tower.
(SSFC, 7/21/13, p.42)

1963 Jul, Gov. Pat Brown
appointed Joseph Kennedy to the SF Municipal Court bench. He was the
city’s 2nd African American to be appointed judge.
(SFEM, 11/17/96, p.18)

1963 Aug 11, The Metropolitan
Life Insurance Co. said San Francisco’s Parkmerced community, with a
population of some 8,000, will be open to negroes.
(SSFC, 8/11/13, DB p.42)

1963 Sep 5, In San Francisco
burlesque patrons viewed the last show of the President Follies at
60 McAllister St.
(SSFC, 9/1/13, DB p.42)

1963 Nov, The Campus CORE and
W.E.B. DuBois Club organized pickets at Select Realty, a rental firm
that only served whites, and 3 Mel’s Drive In restaurants.
(SFEM, 11/17/96, p.20)

1963 John Campbell Bruce
(1906-1996) wrote "Escape From Alcatraz." It was based on a true
1962 escape. The book was turned into a film in 1979.
(SFC, 7/9/96, p.20)
1963 Josef Krips succeeded
Enrique Jorda to lead the SF Symphony.
(SFEC, 8/10/97, p.B9)
1963 In San Francisco the
4,000-plus seat Fox Theater at 10th and Market, designed by Thomas
Lamb and opened in 1929, was demolished.
(SSFC, 5/25/14, p.C2)
1963 Thomas Fong (d.2000 at 87)
founded the Wax Museum. The Wax Museum opened at 145 Jefferson, an
old grain mill, on Fisherman’s Wharf with an exhibit by a Canadian
crook following the Seattle World’s Fair. Thomas Fong had his own
figures made and reopened in 1964. In 1999 Rodney Fong, grandson of
the founder, closed the museum as part of a $15 million remodeling
program.
(SFEC, 7/12/98, DB p.31)(SSFC, 11/26/00, p.D9)
1963 The Chinese Historical
Society of America opened in SF. It was the first of its kind in the
country.
(SFEC, 9/20/98, Z1 p.6)
1963 In San Francisco the steam
lumber schooner Wapama (b.1915) went on display at the Hyde Street
Pier. It had operated on the Alaskan coast until about 1947 and was
purchased by the state in 1957 to be a museum ship. it was the only
survivor of some 225 steam powered schooners built for maritime
trade on the pacific coast. In 2011 the National Park Service
decided to dismantle it due to old age and dry rot.
(SFC, 5/19/11, p.C5)
1963 World Press, an hour-long
weekly roundup of international news stories analyzed by a panel of
political analysts, debuted on KQED. Panel members, who were
political science analysts specializing in each specific global
area, each brought a newspaper for round table discussion. It was
developed by San Francisco Supervisor Roger Boas.
(SFC, 2/14/17, p.C4)
1963 Phillip Burton engineered
the election of Congressman John F. Shelley as mayor of SF. This
opened the seat for Burton. Shelley had been opposed by Harold
Dobbs, owner of Mel’s Drive In restaurants.
(SFEM, 11/17/96, p.20)
1963 George Moscone made his
first run for the SF Board of Supervisors. He served on the board
from 1963-1966.
(SFC, 9/13/96, p.E2)(SFC, 11/26/98, p.A19)
1963 The Cannery was converted
to a shopping mall by Manchurian immigrant Leonid Matveyeff (Leonard
Martin). Inigo Jones in 1608 built an oak-paneled hall for Queen
Elizabeth’s ambassador to France. The room was later bought intact
by William Randolph Hearst and shipped to New York. It was later
purchased by the developer of the SF Cannery and shipped to SF. It
was set up as the interior of Jack’s.
(SFEC, 7/12/98, DB p.30,32)
1963 The Proctor & Gamble
Company purchased the SF based Folger Coffee. In 1994 P&G closed
the Folgers plant in South San Francisco, the brands last presence
in the Bay Area.
(SFC, 6/28/97, p.D2)(SFC, 6/5/08, p.C2)
1963 Jan, The San Francisco
produce market, begun in 1875 and displaced by development, moved
from the Embarcadero to the Bayview.
(SFC, 5/15/12, p.C5)
1963 Jim Small, a member of the
SF Dolphin Club, was run over by a boat while on a 5-mile swim from
Sausalito to Aquatic Park. His left leg was severed by the boat's
propellers and he died 3 days later.
(SFCM, 1/25/04, p.12)

1964 Jan 9, In San Francisco
the Civil Service Commission voted unanimously to uphold the firing
of Juvenile Probation Officer James A. Forstner, who refusing to
shave his beard.
(SSFC, 1/5/14, DB p.42)

1964 Jan 27, In San Francisco
the California Meat Co. and its 50 butchers moved from its 2-story
building at Montgomery and merchant to a modern building at 750
Brannan.
(SSFC, 1/26/14, DB p.42)

1964 Mar 9, A group of 5 Lakota
(Sioux) Native Americans occupied Alcatraz Island in a peaceful
protest. They declared that it should be a Native American cultural
center and university.
(SFC, 5/19/96,City Guide, p.7)(G, Summer ‘97,
p.4)

1964 Mar 1, In San Francisco
demonstrations began at the Sheraton-Palace Hotel over hiring
practices.
(SFC, 3/1/14, p.A1)

1964 Mar 3, In San Francisco
two days after protests at the Palace Hotel, demonstrators gathered
to protest the hiring practices of the Cadillac salesroom on Van
Ness. Student activist, Terence Hallinan, was arrested in a 2-day of
protest against racial discrimination in hiring at the Sheraton
Palace Hotel.
(SFEC, 10/20/96, BR, p.6)(SFEM, 11/17/96, p.27)

1964 Apr, In San Francisco
demonstrators waged sit-ins at 3 automobile showrooms and 226 were
arrested. The SF sit-ins spread to 50 major cities across the US. A
pact was reached between the NAACP and the Motor Car Dealer’s
Association to accelerate the hiring of Negroes.
(SFEM, 11/17/96, p.29)

1964 May 10, Victor Pasquale
Morabito (45), president and managing owner of the San Francisco
49ers, died of a heart attack. His brother, Anthony J. Morabito,
founder-owner of the 49ers, had died of a heart attack between
halves of a 49ers-Bears game in 1957.
(SSFC, 5/11/14, DB p.50)

1964 May 17, In San Francisco
thousands gathered in Golden Gate park to rally against a proposal
for a Panhandle Freeway.
(SSFC, 5/18/14, DB p.50)

1964 May 23, In San Francisco 6
people died in a fire at All Hallows Catholic Church. Panic seized
some 250 people after a Samoan fire dancer’s pan of gasoline
exploded from a cigarette lighter.
(SSFC, 5/25/14, DB p.42)

1964 Jun 19, In SF publicist
Davey Rosenberg (1937-1986) persuaded waitress Carol Doda (b.1937)
to don a Rudi Gernreich topless bathing suit at the Condor Club. She
soon had her size-34 breast injected with silicon, and her bust came
to be known as Doda's "twin-44s" and "the new Twin Peaks of SF." Her
fame prompted the club to erect a neon sign with blinking nipples
that lasted to 1991.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_Doda)(SFEC,
8/1/99, DB p.32)(SSFC, 9/11/11, DB p.46)

1964 Jul 16, In accepting the
Republican presidential nomination in San Francisco (Cow Palace –
Daly City), Sen. Barry M. Goldwater of Arizona said "extremism in
the defense of liberty is no vice" and that "moderation in the
pursuit of justice is no virtue."
(AP, 7/16/97)(SSFC, 7/13/14, DB p.38)

1964 Oct 17, In San Francisco
some 350,000 people came out for the Columbus Day Parade and to see
Pres. Lyndon Johnson.
(SSFC, 10/12/14, DB p.42)

1964 Oct 28, Dr. Timothy Leary
(44) and Dr. Richard Alper (33), fired from Harvard Univ. for
experimenting with LSD, spoke in San Francisco and said two
generations hence everyone may be taking LSD weekly to increase
their perceptiveness.
(SSFC, 10/26/14, DB p.42)

1964 Oct, The 547-foot USS
Horne, built at the Hunter’s Point naval shipyard in SF, was
launched. It was named after Adm. Frederick J. Horne (d.1959), who
played a major role in directing the Navy’s efforts in WW II. It was
decommissioned in 1994. In 2008 it was scheduled to be sunk in the
Pacific following target practice.
(SFC, 6/26/08, p.B1)

1964 George Hitchcock
(1914-2010), poet and playwright, founded the Kayak poetry magazine
in San Francisco. He continued publishing it until 1984 after 64
issues.
(SSFC, 9/5/10, p.C9)
1964 San Francisco’s
Ghirardelli Square opened as a collection of shops and
restaurants in the former Ghirardelli chocolate factory. The project
was developed by William Matson Roth (1917-2014), the grandson of
shipping magnate Capt. William Matson.
(SFC, 5/31/14, p.C1)
1964 In San Francisco the
Scottish Rite Masonic Center was completed at 2850 19th Ave. It was
designed by architect Albert F. Roller.
(SSFC, 1/18/15, p.C2)
1964 In San Francisco the
18-story tower at 180 Samsome was built. It was designed by
architects Hertzka and Knowles.
(SSFC, 5/4/14, p.C2)
1964 The Portsmouth Square
Parking Garage opened. It was run by a nonprofit organization
organized by Chinatown merchants and Harding Leong (d.1999 at 78).
Leong was also an instrumental leader in the On Lok Senior Health
service.
(SFEC, 4/18/99, p.D8)
1964 The new Grace Episcopal
Cathedral was dedicated with its new Ghiberti doors, cast from molds
of the original doors in Florence. It was completed under the
leadership of Bishop James Pike, who died a mysterious death in
Judea.
(SFEM, 8/9/98, p.24)(SFC, 7/15/99, p.A19)
1964 Work began on St. Mary’s
Cathedral at Gough and Geary.
(SFEM, 8/9/98, p.25)
1964 In San Francisco the
19-story Carillon Tower was built at 1100 Gough. Architect Donald
Powers Smith designed the rounded structure.
(SSFC, 5/29/11, p.D2)
1964 In SF members of the Bay
View Boat Club, founded in 1940 at Hunters Point, moved their
building from Innes Ave. by barge to the Mission Rock area, where
land was leased from the city.
(SFC, 10/7/05, p.B5)
1964 John Bryan (1934-2007)
quit the SF Chronicle and founded the Open City Press, San
Francisco’s 1st alternative paper.
(SSFC, 2/11/07, p.B7)
1964 Dr. Jerome M. Vaeth
(d.1998 at 73) was named the founding director of the Claire
Zellerbach Saroni Tumor Institute at Mt. Zion Hospital. For some 25
years he edited the textbook: "Frontiers of Radiation Therapy and
Oncology," based on a SF Cancer Symposium that he originated.
(SFC, 10/21/98, p.C3)
1964 The San Francisco Cross
City Race was renamed the Bay to Breakers race.
(SFC, 5/15/09, p.B1)
1964 California Gov. Pat Brown
appointed his brother Harold C. Brown (d.1998 at 90) to the
Municipal court Bench of SF. Justice Brown and Pat Brown formed the
SF Chapter of the Order of Cincinnatus, which had as its credo that
elected officials should promise no favors and that supporters would
seek no favors.
(SFC, 5/25/98, p.E3)
1964 George Moscone and Leo
McCarthy were elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
(SFEM, 11/17/96, p.25)
1964 Terry Francois was
appointed by Mayor Jack Shelley as the first black supervisor in San
Francisco. Francois was current Mayor Willie Brown’s former senior
law partner. He served to 1978.
(SFC, 5/17/96, p.A-25)(SFC, 10/23/00, p.A24)
1964 The SF Redevelopment
Agency announced a plan to turn the blocks south of Market St. along
Third and Fourth streets into what it calls Yerba Buena Center.
(SFC, 10/21/04, p.A15)
1964 Willie Brown began his
political career when he won his bid for the 18th Assembly District
(centered in the Fillmore district). His 1962 attempt was
unsuccessful. His campaign workers included George Moscone and Diane
Feinstein.
(SFEC, 10/20/96, BR, p.6)(SFEM, 11/17/96, p.12)
1964 Rotea Gilford (d.1998 at
70) became the first black inspector in the SF Police Dept.
(SFC, 3/17/98, p.A20)
1964 In San Francisco a woman
suffered minor bruises when a cable car lurched off its tracks. She
said the accident caused an increase in her sexual appetite and
numerous lovers over the nexst five years. She sued the city for
turning her into a nymphomaniac and won a settlement for $50,000. In
2015 the FOGG Theater company debuted “The Cable Car Nymphomaniac."
(SFC, 11/4/14, p.E1)
1964 Jean Jacobs established
Citizens for Juvenile Justice, a San Francisco organization that
transferred children from the juvenile justice system to social
service agencies. She had recently found a 3-year-old in an
isolation cell at juvenile hall.
(SFC, 10/19/99, p.A23)
1964 The cable cars of San
Francisco became a National Historic Landmark. The first cable car
bell ringing competition was held.
(SFC, 5/19/96,City Guide, p.17)(SFC, 7/19/96,
p.A14)
1964 SF signed a contract with
Viacom for cable TV service that was extended in 1980. In 1996 TCI
purchased Viacom which had cable rights through 2005.
(SFC, 2/4/97, p.A16)
1964 SF reported 61 killings
for the year.
(SFC,12/9/97, p.A18)

1964-1975 This period was documented by Peter
Coyote (b. Peter Cohon) in his 1998 book "Sleeping Where I Fall."
(SFEC, 4/12/98, BR p.3)

1964-1977 Rev. Edward McFadden (d.2002 at 78)
served as the principal of St. Ignatius. He went on to teach English
at Bellarmine College Prep in San Jose.
(SFC, 5/8/02, p.A21)

1964-1996 Pharmacist Mike Callagy ran the Arrow
Pharmacy in Bernal Heights for 32 years before selling to a
supermarket pharmacy.
(SFC, 6/29/96, p.A17)

1965 Jan 1, In SF gay
celebrants held a Mardi-Gras themed costume ball at California Hall
on Polk Street as a benefit for the Council on Religion and the
Homosexual, co-founded in 1964 by Rev. Robert Cromey and Rev. Ted
McIlvenna. Police set up flood lights at the entrance and harassed
some 500 couples that entered. Mayor Shelley soon called for a full
accounting of the episode from Police Chief Thomas Cahill.
(SFC, 10/30/96, p.E7)(SSFC, 6/24/07, p.E1)(SFCM,
6/10/01, p.2)

1965 Mar 7, In San Francisco a
mob of teenage boys and girls rampaged through the Mission district
following the film “T.A.M.I" featuring James Brown at the Crown
Theater at 2555 Mission Street.
(SSFC, 3/8/15, p.42)

1965 Jun 7, San Francisco Mayor
John F. Shelley said he could not afford the house at 115 Robin Hood
forest on Mount Davidson after costs rose from an initial $75,000 to
as much as $110,000 for alterations.
(SSFC, 6/7/15, DB p.50)

1965 Jun 29, The Redo Dog
Saloon opened in Virginia City, Ca. A San Francisco band called the
Charlatans opened. Architect George Hunter and keyboardist Michael
Ferguson had created the group and the first psychedelic tock poster
for the occasion. By 2015 a mint copy of the poster was valued at
$18,250. A 1996 film by Mary Works was titled “Rockin’ at the Red
Dog: The Dawn of Psychedelic Rock."
(SFC, 6/26/15, p.C4)

1965 Aug 7, San Francisco
police arrested Ronnie Davis, founder of the SF Mime Troupe, in
Lafayette Park. He was charged with performing in a public park
without a permit. The troupe’s permit had been revoked for its
adoption of “Il Candelaio.," a 16th century play by Giordano Bruno.
Bill Graham, manager of the troupe, soon threw a benefit for the
troupe and hired an unknown band called the Jefferson Airplane. The
benefit raised $4000 and led Graham to leave the Mime Troupe and
open the Fillmore.
(SFC, 8/8/15, p.C1)

1965 Aug 13, In SF the
Jefferson Airplane made its first public performance opening at the
new Matrix club on Fillmore. The band held an ownership interest in
the club.
(SFEC, 5/23/99, Z1 p.4)(SFC, 11/17/08, p.E4)

1965 Aug 22, in San Francisco
Giants’ pitcher Juan Marichal struck Johnny Roseboro, the catcher of
the Los Angeles Dodgers, with a bat sparking a fight in the third
inning that took fourteen minutes to clear before play resumed.
(SSFC, 8/23/15, DB p.46)

1965 Sep, The SF Chronicle and
the SF Examiner began a joint operating agreement for printing and
distribution.
(SFC, 8/7/99, p.A1)(SSFC, 6/7/09, p.W3)

1965 Oct 16, The world’s first
acid rock dance was held at Longshoreman’s Hall. Top band on the
bill was the Charlatan’s with Dan Hicks, a house band from the Red
Dog Saloon in Virginia City. The Jefferson Airplane also made its
first concert appearance. Alton Kelley (1940-2008) and 3 other
people, under the name Family Dog, staged the dance concert.
(www.chickenonaunicycle.com/FD%20Shows%20Full%20List.htm)(SFC,
6/3/08, p.B5)

1965 Nov 13, San Francisco’s
new Playboy Club opened at 736 Montgomery St.
(SFC, 11/7/15, DB p.50)

1965 Dec 10, The Warlocks band,
renamed as the Grateful Dead, made their debut under the new name at
the Fillmore Auditorium. The band began life as a Palo Alto area jug
band and moved to the Haight Ashbury in 1966.
(SFEC, 5/23/99, Z1 p.4)(SFEC, 8/29/99, BR p.6)

1965 Dec 13, In San Francisco
Jerry Rubin (27) of Berkeley was arrested and sentenced to 30 days
in jail along with two other men and a woman for their anti-Vietnam
war protest and picketing against Gen. Maxwell D. Taylor during his
August appearance.
(SSFC, 12/13/15, DB p.54)

1965 Jay DeFeo’s painting "The
Rose" weighed a ton and was moved out of a house and later to the SF
Art Institute where it languished for 26 years.
(SFEC, 10/13/96, DB p.8)
1965 Harold Bachman (1921-2005)
designed the logo for San Francisco’s Doggie Diner. In 1966 his
dachshund head design was turned into a rotating giant head for the
chain of diners founded by Al Ross (d.2010 at 93). Ross had founded
Doggie Diner in Oakland on San Pablo and 19th Ave. in 1948 and sold
his chain in 1979.
(SFC, 10/6/05, p.B7)(SFC, 4/5/10, p.C6)(SSFC,
2/16/14, p.C1)
1965 Michael McClure’s 2-person
play “The Beard" was produced in SF. Actor Richard Bright (d.2006)
was arrested on an obscenity charge for language used in the
production. The charges were later dismissed and set a precedent for
artistic expression rights.
(SFC, 2/21/06, p.B4)
1965 The SF-based Beau Brummels
and lead singer Sal Valentino made a hit with “Laugh Laugh."
(SFC, 2/22/06, p.E1)
1965 Singer Laura Nyro
(1947-1997) made her first extended club appearance at the Hungry i
coffeehouse in SF.
(SFC, 4/10/97, p.A23)
1965 The Brundage Wing was
added to the de Young Museum and became the Asian Art Museum. In
1960 Chicago Industrialist Avery Brundage gave 137 pieces of Asian
art to the de Young Museum.
(SSFC, 12/24/00, DB p.8)(SFC, 10/21/04, p.A15)
1965 In SF 1 32-story condo
tower at 999 Green St. was completed. It was designed by Tibor
Fecskes for Joseph Eichler.
(www.eichlernetwork.com/ENCookin.html)
1965 In San Francisco the
16-story building at 450 Sansome St. was built with a design by
architect Richard Hadley.
(SSFC, 4/26/09, p.B3)
1965 Chevron built its
headquarters building at 555 Market St. A 2nd headquarters building
was later erected at 575 Market.
(SFC, 9/6/01, p.A11)
1965 In San Francisco the Holy
Virgin Cathedral was completed at 6210 Geary Blvd. The Russian
Orthodox church was designed by Oleg Ivanitsky.
(SFC, 1/25/02, p.G6)(SSFC, 7/13/14, p.C2)
1965 A small coffeehouse
ministry, called Intersection for the Arts, opened in a former bar
at 150 Ellis St. It had grown from 3 earlier experimental
ministries.
(SFC, 6/13/05, p.D1)
1965 Bill Graham (born as
Wolfgang Grajonca), manager of the SF Mime Troupe, threw a legal
defense fund raiser at the troupe’s Howard St. loft with the
Jefferson Airplane, John Handy, the Fugs, Sandy Bull and others.
(SFC,12/13/97, p.A15)(SFEC, 3/8/98, p.W30)
1965 Jose Sarria became the 1st
openly gay person to run for public office in the US. He received
5,600 votes in his run for SF supervisor.
(SFC, 2/21/05, p.B5)
1965 Jose Sarria founded The
San Francisco Imperial Court, the oldest SF gay organization. He
proclaimed himself Empress Jose I, widow of Emperor Joshua Norton
(d.1880).
(SFEM,10/19/97, DB p.32)
1965 In San Francisco Art
Gensler founded his Gensler architectural firm. By 2014 it had
become the world’s largest architectural practice with 46 offices in
14 countries.
(SSFC, 3/16/14, p.A16)
1965 Dennis P. Jordan
(1909-1996), real estate developer, organized the SF Bay Sailing
Association.
(SFC, 7/16/96, p.A14)
1965 SF Giants pitcher Juan
Marichal was named MVP in the baseball All Star Game and went on to
a 22-13 season.
(SFC, 11/27/99, p.C3)
1965 Attorney Morris Lowenthal
filed a lawsuit that was instrumental in unearthing a
multimillion-dollar scandal in the SF tax assessor's office.
(SFC, 3/9/99, p.A22)
1965 San Francisco’s News
Call-Bulletin was folded into the Examiner newspaper.
(SFC, 3/8/96, p.A21)(SFC, 10/5/13, p.C1)
1965 Father Harry Carlin
(d.2006), Jesuit priest, led a $2 million purchase of 11 acres in
San Francisco’s Sunset District for a new campus for St. Ignatius
College Preparatory. He had graduated from St. Ignatius in 1935.
(SFC, 3/7/06, p.B5)
1965 Fritz Maytag saved the
Anchor Brewing Co. in San Francisco when he returned it to
traditional brewing methods. Maytag bought into the Anchor Brewing
Co.
(SFC, 8/7/96, p.B1)(SFC, 3/3/99, Z1 p.9)
1965 Bethlehem Steel built the
Bradley, a carrier escort ship. This was its last ship that
Bethlehem built at SF Pier 70 facility. During the 1960s 57 sections
of underwater steel tubes for BART were created at the shipyards.
(SSFC, 9/14/08, p.A11)
1965 Jack Spicer (40), poet,
died of alcohol poisoning. The "Collected Book of Jack Spicer" was
published nearly 10 years after his death. In 1998 Lewis Ellingham
and Kevin Killian published "Poet Be Like God: Jack Spicer and the
San Francisco Renaissance. "The House That Jack Built : the
Collected Lectures of Jack Spicer was also published in 1998 with an
afterword by Peter Gizzi.
(SFEC, 1/3/99, BR p.3)

1965-1970 This period is covered in the 1997 book
"Beneath the Diamond Sky: Haight Ashbury 1965-1970" by Barney
Hoskyns.
(SFEC,12/21/97, p.B9)

1965-1972 Albert Johnson (d.1998 at 73) served as
program director for the SF Int’l. Film Festival. He was a senior
lecturer at UC Berkeley and served as director again in 1980 and
1981. He co-founded the first serious film journal in America, the
Film Quarterly.
(SFC, 10/22/98, p.C7)

1966 Jan 20, The Merry
Prankster organized the Trips Festival at the SF Longshoremen’s
Hall. It became 3 days of drug-infused music and partying.
(SFEC, 3/1/98, p.W28)

1966 Mar 11, The San Francisco
Planning Commission approved construction of a 981-foot television
tower on Mt. Sutro. The American Broadcasting Company owned the
5.23- acre site.
(SSFC, 3/6/16, DB p.50)

1966 Mar 12, A "Love Fest" in
Golden Gate Park was broken up by the Fire Dept. after nearby
residents mistook candles for an uncontrolled blaze.
(SFEC, 8/17/97, p.A10)

1966 Apr, The Grateful Dead
returned to Northern California from Los Angeles. They established a
ranch in Novato and moved into a Victorian at 710 Haight St.
(SFEC, 3/1/98, p.W28)

1966 Jun 26, In San Francisco a
fire broke out and destroyed the remainder of the Sutro Baths. Arson
was suspected. The baths had been sold to land developers and were
under demolition with plans for high-rise apartments. The ruins
became part of the Park Service in 1980.
(SFC, 5/19/96,City Guide, p.7)(SFC, 4/14/99, Z1
p.4)(SSFC, 6/26/16, DB p.50)

1966 Aug 11, Wilkes Bashford
(1933-2016), men’s clothing retailer, opened his own shop in SF. In
2009 he filed for bankruptcy and sold his operations to
Mitchells/Richards/Marshs, an East Coast company.
(SSFC, 8/6/06, p.D1)(SFC, 11/11/09, p.A12)(SFC,
1/18/16, p.A1)

1966 Aug 29, The Beatles
concluded their fourth American tour with their last public concert,
at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. The Park's capacity was
42,500, but only 25,000 tickets were sold, leaving large sections of
unsold seats. Fans paid between $4.50 and $6.50 for tickets, and The
Beatles' fee was around $90,000. The show's promoter was local
company Tempo Productions.
(AP, 8/29/97)(http://tinyurl.com/p8c8dnr)

1966 Sep 20, Allen Cohen
(1940-2004), published the 1st edition of the SF Oracle underground
newspaper. The San Francisco Oracle featured visionary art by such
renown artists as: Rick Griffin, Victor Moscoso, David Singer,
Stanley Mouse, alongside writing firmly steeped in the past with
such Beat era writers as: Allen Ginsberg, Gary Snyder, and Lawrence
Ferlinghetti. Cohen was arrested earlier in 1966 for selling a
collection of erotic poetry called "The Love Book" by Lenore Kandel.
Cohen was convicted and fined $50. The SF Oracle folded in 1968
following the publication of issue #12.
(SFC, 5/1/04,
p.B7)(www.sfheart.com/cohen_bio.html)

1966 Sep, In SF the Jefferson
Airplane played the band’s last show at the Matrix, the first night
that Grace Slick sang with the band.
(SFC, 11/17/08, p.E4)

1966 Oct 6, There was a Love
Pageant at Golden Gate Park as the Legislature outlawed the sale and
possession of LSD.
(SFEC, 5/23/99, Z1 p.4)

1966 Dec 31, Thousands of
hippies celebrated New Year’s Eve at Golden Gate Park. Newspapers
reported that they were joined by the Hells Angels and "a limited
fringe group of squares."
(SFEC, 8/17/97, p.A10)

1966 In San Francisco Chet
Helms and Bill Graham put on three rock shows at the Fillmore
Auditorium as partners. Graham then began renting the hall and
putting on shows by himself.
(SFC, 10/9/97, p.A17)
1966 Avery Brundage donated his
extensive collection of Asian art to San Francisco. A west wing was
added to the de Young Museum which became the Asian Art Museum. [see
Blanchard, 1959]
(SFEC, 10/6/96, DB p.37)(SFC, 10/3/97, p.A22)
c1966 In San Francisco the Galerie de Blanche was
begun about this time by Blanche in China Basin on a pier over the
Mission Channel at 1000 4th St. She later lost her lease but
Blanche’s Garden was maintained.
(flyer 10/12/96, see SFC, 11/6/91,Caen)
1966 Teresa Stratas made her SF
Opera debut in "Madame Butterfly."
(SFEC, 8/17/97, DB p.45)
1966 In San Francisco the 43
story tower at 44 Montgomery St., designed by architect John Graham,
was completed.
(SSFC, 8/12/12, p.C2)
1966 The Presbyterian Church in
SF paid the Industrial Areas Foundation of Saul Alinsky $200,000 to
help organize poor people in the Bay Area.
(SFC, 9/16/98, p.A5)
1966 Jerry Varnado and Jimmy
Garrett organized the first Black Student Union at San Francisco
State Univ.
(SFC, 2/1/10, p.A10)
1966 Anton LaVey (d.1997)
founded the Church of Satan in San Francisco. His home at 6114
California St. served as the headquarters.
(SFC, 5/8/97, p.A22)(SFC,11/8/97, p.A22)(SFC,
1/25/99, p.A1)
1966 The SF Bay Guardian was
founded by Bruc Brugmann and his wife, Jean Dibble. They ran it
until 2012 when it was acquired by San Francisco Media. The last
issue of the Bay Guardian was publisjhed on Oct 15, 2014.
(SFC, 10/15/14, p.A15)
1966 In San Francisco
Iranian-born topless star Yvonne D’Angers (21) chained herself to
the Golden Gate Bridge to protest her threatened deportation. In
2009 Yvonne Boreta (64), accomplished painter and model died in Las
Vegas. In 1965 D’Angers, her stage name, was a star witness in a
trial over the legality of topless waitresses.
(SSFC, 6/14/09, p.B3)
1966 Pres. Johnson named Lim
Poon Lee as postmaster of San Francisco. To date this was the
highest federally appointed position ever held by a Chinese
American.
(SFC, 11/5/09, p.C3)
1966 The Wah Ching, an
organized crime group, began as a Chinese street gang in San
Francisco. It went on to develop into a criminal organization, with
alleged multi-international crime connections. In the late 80s the
Wah Ching, with ties to Hong Kong triads, invested illegal income
into legitimate businesses such as video importing and film-leasing.
Members of the gang gained control over videocassette libraries and
extorted merchants to lease their tapes.
(SFC, 2/18/98,
p.A7)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wah_Ching)
1966 Ronald Reuther (d.2007)
took over as director of the SF Zoo. He left in 1973 to direct the
Philadelphia Zoo. His uncle Carey Baldwin had directed the SF Zoo
for 23 years. He and his children helped nurse a sickly baby
gorilla, named Koko (b.1971), back to health. Months later he gave
Stanford graduate student Penny Patterson permission to work with
Koko.
(SFC, 10/25/07,
p.B7)(www.koko.org/world/signlanguage.html)
1966 In San Francisco the
Career Resource Development Center was established by volunteers in
Chinatown as a job-placement and training service.
(SFC, 11/2/96, p.A21)
1966 In San Francisco Paddy
Nolan (d.1996) purchased the bar concession at the Dovre Hall on
18th St. The Dovre Hall had been a community gathering place for
Norwegian immigrants. The Dovre Club faced closure in 1997 when the
Women’s Center decided not to renew its lease.
(SFC, 1/28/97, p.A11)
1966 The SF Chronicle assumed
sponsorship of the Bay to Breakers race.
(Ind, 5/11/02, 12A)
1966 James L. Walker III
(d.1997 at 76) challenged George Moscone for the California Senate.
He was a founding member of the SF Guardsmen, a charitable
organization that raised money for poor youths to attend summer
camp. Moscone was elected and he pushed through legislation on
bilingual education, sex between consenting adults, marijuana
decriminalization, and hot meals for needy children.
(SFC, 5/24/97, p.A20)(SFC, 11/26/98, p.A19)
1966 State assemblyman Milton
Marks was appointed as a SF Municipal Court Judge.
(SFC, 12/5/98, p.A22)
1966 Charles J. Wong was
appointed chief council at the Chinatown office of the SF
Neighborhood Legal Assistance Foundation. He led the team that
established the right of non-English speaking children to a
bilingual education in the Supreme Court case of Lau vs. Nichols.
(SFC, 9/25/96, p.A20)

1966-1971 The book: "The Art of the Fillmore: The
Poster Series 1966-1971" by Gayle Lemke is a collection of the
posters commissioned by Bill Graham Presents for shows at the
Fillmore East and West.
(SFEC, 2/8/98, BR p.7)

1966-1977 Dorothy van Beroldingen (d.1999 at 84)
served on the Board of Supervisors. She created the SF Commission on
the Status of Women and was appointed by Gov. Brown to the SF Court
in 1977.
(SFC, 12/21/99, p.A27)

1966-1989 Dr. John F. Murray worked as chief of
the Pulmonary and Critical Care Unit at SF General Hospital. In 2000
he authored "Intensive Care: a Doctor’s Journal" that recorded 4
weeks of his daily rounds.
(SFEC, 7/30/00, BR p.5)

1966-1990 Milton Salkind (d.1998 at 82) served as
the president of the SF Conservatory of Music.
(SFC, 12/10/98, p.C16)

1967 Jan 14, The great Human
Be-In was held in Golden Gate Park and drew national attention to
the Haight-Ashbury scene. Allen Cohen, editor of a paper called the
Oracle, came up with the idea. It was here that Timothy Leary
proclaimed "Turn on, Tune in, Drop out." At the Gathering of the
Tribes Allen Ginsberg is credited with coining the term "Flower
Power."
(SFC, 5/19/96,City Guide, p.5)(SFEC, 4/6/97,
p.A11)(SSFC, 1/14/07, p.A10)

1967 Feb 22, Hippies pleaded
with the SF supervisors to change the name of Haight St. to Love
Street.
(SFEC, 8/17/97, p.A10)

1967 Mar 23, The newspapers
announced that Mayor Jack Shelley "Warns Hippies to stay out of
town."
(SFEC, 8/17/97, p.A10)

1967 Mar, The Los Angeles-based
Doors made their 2nd trip to SF and performed for a mid-week
engagement at the Matrix ahead of a weekend performance at the
Avalon. Peter Abrams, co-owner of the Matrix, recorded the show with
a recently installed tape recorder.
(SFC, 11/17/08, p.E1)
1967 Mar, San Francisco police
estimated that there were now some 4,000 hippies in the city and
that some 100,000 were expected this summer.
(SSFC, 3/19/17, DB p.50)

1967 May 8, The San Francisco
Board of Supervisors approved a resolution designed to discourage a
mass invasion of hippies into the Haight Ashbury district.
(SSFC, 5/7/17, DB p.54)

1967 May 22, In San Francisco
Ott’s Drive-in became the first fast food spot in the city after
installing the only automated ordering system in the Bay Area. In
1971 the city announced plans to demolish Ott’s and build a hotel at
the 550 Bay St. location.
(SFC, 11/19/16, p.C1)

1967 May 26, California State
Senator J. Eugene McAteer (b.1916) died during his campaign for
mayor of SF. Joseph Alioto, the co-chairman of the campaign, ran in
his place and overcame his rival, Harold Dobbs.
(SFC, 1/30/98,
p.A10)(www.joincalifornia.com/candidate/5668)

1967 Jun 7, Three Moby Grape
members were arrested on Mt. Tamalpais, following a concert at the
Avalon Ballroom in SF, for having sex with underage girls.
(www.rockument.com/scenes_sf1.html)
1967 Jun 7, The Haight Ashbury
Free Medical Clinic opened in San Francisco. Dr. David E. Smith (28)
founded the SF Free Clinic. The first clinic opened at 509 Clayton
St. with $500 in seed money from Rev. Leon Harris, pastor of All
Saints Episcopal Church. The facility spawned a nationwide movement.
Smith resigned in 2006.
(SFC, 6/7/97, p.A16)(SFC, 3/6/06, p.B5)(AP,
6/7/07)

1967 Jun 8, The City’s Juvenile
Justice Commission reported that 200 youngsters were arriving per
week and called for "halfway houses" to be set up.
(SFEC, 8/17/97, p.A10)

1967 Jul, Music promoter Bill
Graham sponsored a free rock concert at the Fillmore Auditorium in
San Francisco to benefit the Haight Ashbury Free Clinic. In 1992 the
facility at 1696 Haight St. was named after Graham (d.1991).
(SSFC, 10/22/17, DB p.50)

1967 Aug 4, John K. Carter, a
25-year-old LSD dealer was found dead in his apartment with 12 stab
wounds and his right arm amputated.
(SFEC, 8/17/97, p.A10)

1967 Aug 6, Eric Frank
Dahlstrom, 23, was arrested near Sebastopol driving Carter’s car
which contained the victim’s arm. Dahlstrom told police he killed
carter while on a bad LSD trip. Edward Thomas, 26, known as
"Superspade," was found dead in a sleeping bag in rural Marin.
(SFEC, 8/17/97, p.A10)

1967 Aug 7, Beatle George
Harrison visited the Haight with his wife, Patti, and played a
borrowed guitar to an adoring crowd.
(SFEC, 8/17/97, p.A10)

1967 Aug 15, The price of a
haircut in San Francisco went up 25 cents to $2.75. The barber’s
union announced the same increase for Daly City, South San
Francisco, San Bruno and Millbrae.
(SSFC, 8/13/17, DB p.50)

1967 Aug 20, A Summer of Love
Festival of Lights on Mount Tam was broken up by sheriff’s deputies
and park rangers.
(SFEC, 8/17/97, p.A10)

1967 Aug, Milton Marks,
Republican, beat Assemblyman John Burton in a special election to
finish the term of state Senator J. Eugene McAteer.
(SFC, 12/5/98, p.A15)

1967 Sep 1, In San Francisco
Golden Gate Park officials said the Victorian-era Flower
Conservatory has been severely damaged by vandals. 77 panes of glass
were smashed with damages estimated at $800.
(SSFC, 3/27/17, DB p.65)

1967 Sep 14, The TV series
“Ironside" began and continued to 1975. It featured Raymond Burr.
Early episodes used the old Hall of Justice at 750 Kearney in San
Francisco.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ironside_%281967_TV_series%29)(SSFC,
9/6/15, p.F3)

1967 Sep 17, Chicago chemist
Ted Erickson (39) became first person to swim from the Farallon
Islands to the Golden Gate Bridge. He also held the record for the
two-way swim of the English Channel.
(SSFC, 9/17/17 DB p.54)

1967 Oct 2, In San Francisco
police raided the Grateful Dead’s crash pad at 710 Ashbury and
hauled ten members and associates to a police station on
questionable marijuana charges. The case wrapped up in 1968 with all
felony charges reduced to misdemeanors.
(SFC, 3/11/17, p.C1)

1967 Oct 7, A 3-day "Death of
the Hippie" celebration began in Haight Ashbury with a mock
funeral procession and sacrificial fire.
(SFEC, 8/17/97, p.A10)

1967 Nov 13, In SF 3 attackers
opened fire on Officer Herman George at the Hunters Point Project
Station. George later died from his wounds and the case remained
unsolved.
(SFC, 1/27/07, p.A8)

1967 Nov, At SF State a dozen
members of the Black Student Union stormed the offices of The Gator,
the campus newspaper. They left the 21-year-old editor badly beaten.
(SFEC, 3/1/98, p.W3)

1967 Dec 2, A San Francisco
cable car careened down the steep Hyde Street hill into a station
wagon, triggering a fiery explosion that injured some 39 people.
(SSFC, 12/3/17, DB p.46)

1967 Dec 22, In San Francisco
Bobby Seale, chairman of the Black Panthers, spoke at Hunters Point
atop the sound truck of the Peace and Freedom Party and urged
Negroes to buy guns.
(SSFC, 12/17/17, p.50)

1967 A statue of Juan Bautista
de Anza was given to SF from the governor of the Mexican state of
Sonora.
(SFC, 7/18/01, p.A21)
1967 "The Love Book" by beat
poet Lenore Kandel was the last volume of poetry dragged into court
in SF for obscenity charges.
(SFC, 8/15/97, p.A21)
1967 "Aging And Mental
Disorder" by Marjorie Fiske Lowenthal was the first book published
by Jossey-Bass Inc., which was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by
Allen Jossey Bass (1928-1996).
(SFC, 7/13/96, p. A19)
1967 Grace Slick and the
Jefferson Airplane burst out of SF with their songs "Somebody To
Love" and "White Rabbit." In 1998 Slick and Andrea Cagan wrote
"Somebody To Love? A Rock-and-Roll Memoir." A 1980 biography of
Slick was written by Barbara Rowe of the NY Times.
(SFEC, 9/6/98, BR p.3)
1967 Janice Joplin moved to SF
to a Victorian house at 122 Lyon near Oak after tiring of commune
life in Marin with her band, Big Brother and the Holding Company.
She was evicted in 1968 over a dispute about her dog. In 1999 the
house next door at 124 Lyon was converted to the Oak Street House
rehab center for mothers and their babies.
(SFC, 5/20/99, p.A17,21)(SFC, 5/21/99, p.A17)
1967 Mirella Freni and Luciano
Pavarotti made their SF Opera debuts in "La Boheme."
(SFEC, 8/17/97, DB p.45)
1967 The SF Excelsior Library
was built. It was remodeled in 2005.
(SFC, 5/6/05, p.F1)
1967 In San Francisco One
Maritime Plaza, a 25-story tower, opened on Front Street as the
Alcoa Building. It featured a 5-story grid of aluminum X-braces.
(SFC, 2/11/03, p.A15)(SSFC, 10/17/10, p.C2)
1967 Geneva Towers,
twin-20-story buildings, were built as private housing at 1001
Sunnydale Ave, SF. Section 8 tenants were attracted when the
buildings failed to get sufficient middle-income renters. The units
developed into a center for dope-dealing and violence. They were
imploded in 1998.
(SFC, 5/16/98, p.A15)
1967 The ACT Theater settled in
at the Geary Theater in SF. The American Conservatory Theater was
founded by William Ball in 1965 in Pittsburgh.
(SFEC, 3/8/98, p.W29)
1967 The Society for the
Encouragement of Contemporary Art (SECA) was founded as an auxiliary
of the SF MOMA.
(SFEM, 2/28/99, p.4)
1967 The SF Zen Center opened
Zen Heart-Mind Temple, the first Zen monastery outside Asia, at the
former Tassajara Hot Springs in the Ventana Wilderness east of Big
Sur. In 2011 Colleen Morton Busch authored “Fire Monks: Zen Mind
Meets Wildfire at the Gates of Tassajara."
(SSFC, 7/10/11, p.G1)
1967 The Rathayatra Chariot
Festival, an ancient summer tribute to Lord Krishna, was held in SF
and began a long tradition.
(SFC, 8/122/96, p.A19)
1967 In SF Joseph Caporale
(1910-1996) and Frank Sarubei opened Capp’s Corner at Powell and
Green Sts.
(SFC, 12/24/96, p.A16)
1967 In SF Frederick Walter Kuh
(d.1997) bought the Tivoli Italian bistro on Grant Ave. from Nick
Finocchio and renamed it the Savoy Tivoli. Kuh sold the place in
1983.
(SFC,11/12/97, p.A22)
1967 In SF the Tadich Grill
moved from Clay St. to 240 California St.
(SFC, 10/8/97, Z1 p.7)

1967-1970 BART construction took place under
Market St.
(SFC, 11/18/00, p.A9)

1967-1995 Gail Schwarzbart (1941-1996) played in
the violin section of the SF Symphony.
(SFC, 10/10/96, p.C6)

1968 Jan 2, San Francisco poet
Lawrence Ferlinghetti, arrested during the pre-Christmas series of
peace demonstrations outside the Oakland Induction Center, was
sentenced to 17 days in county jail after pleading guilty no contest
to a charge of disturbing the peace.
(SSFC, 12/31/17, DB p.54)

1968 Jan 5, A newspaper strike
shut down the SF Chronicle, the Examiner and the News-Call Bulletin
for 53 days. Bill O'Brien (d.2004) became president of the
SF-Oakland Newspaper Guild the next day and supported the strike,
which had originated with Hearst papers in LA. Senior executives of
the SF Chronicle put out a special edition of the paper on a copy
machine.
(SFC, 2/05/04, p.A27)(SSFC, 6/7/09,
p.W3)(http://tinyurl.com/nkszr8)

1968 Jan 19, In San Francisco
demonstrators battled riot police as US Sec. of State Dean Rusk
spoke at the Fairmont Hotel. More than 60 anti-war demonstrators
were arrested.
(SSFC, 1/14/18, DB p.58)

1968 Mar 23, The SF Kennedy
campaign’s inner circle met. It included Supervisors Jack Ertola and
Roger Boas, as well as Willie Brown, Phillip Burton, Morris
Bernstein and Edna Mosk, wife of Stanley Mosk who was a justice on
the State Supreme Court.
(SFEM, 11/17/96, p.20)

1968 Mar 29, In SF Linda Harmon
(14) was raped and stabbed to death while babysitting for a neighbor
in Visitacion Valley. In late 2003 police matched DNA evidence to
William Speer, who was undergoing therapy for sexually violent
tendencies at an Arizona mental hospital.
(SFC, 12/24/03, p.A13)(SFC, 11/4/05, p.B1)

1968 Apr 5, Mayor Alioto
organized an ecumenical memorial service in honor of Martin Luther
King, who was killed the day before in Memphis.
(SFEC, 2/1/98, p.C7)

1968 Apr 19, Robert Kennedy
arrived to speak at the Univ. of SF.
(SFEM, 11/17/96, p.24)

1968 Apr, The first Cherry
Blossom Festival of SF was held. It became an annual event.
(SFC, 4/11/97, p.E2)

1968 Jun 22-1968 Jun 23, In San
Francisco Big Brother & the Holding Company played this weekend
at the Carousel Ballroom, a former big band venue, at the corner of
market and Van Ness. The space was operated by 4 SF bands: Jefferson
Airplane, Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service and Big
Brother, whose Cheap Thrills album came out two months later.
(SFC, 3/14/12, p.E3)

1968 Oct 19, The Golden Gate
Bridge became the first major bridge in the world to offer one-way
toll collection.
(SSFC, 5/20/12, p.E10)

1968 Oct 28, In SF the first
eviction notices were served to the 196 tenants of the International
Hotel. This led to a 9-year struggle that resulted in their forced
eviction on Aug 4, 1977.
(http://aam1968.blogspot.com/2008/01/third-world-student-strikes-at-sfsu-ucb.html)(SSFC,
8/19/07, p.B1)

1968 Nov 6, At SF State on the
one year anniversary of the Gator incident, the Black Students'
Union and the Third World Liberation Front issued a list of 10
"nonnegotiable" demands and called for a one day strike. The strike
lasted 167 days.
(http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~runamuck/PACEPAPER.htm)(SFEC, 3/1/98,
p.W3)(SFEC, 3/21/99, Z1 p.4)

1968 Dec 2, Pres. S.I.
Hayakawa, semanticist, attempted to address students during the
strike at SF State and pulled the plug from speakers controlled by a
chanting student. Hayakawa seceded Robert Smith, who had replaced
John Summerskill, at SF State College.
(SFEC, 3/21/99, Z1 p.4)

1968 Herb Caen (1916-1997), SF
newspaper columnist, wrote his 7th book: "City of Golden Hills."
(SFEC, 2/2/97, p.A13)
1968 Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas
Zuckerman made their SF Symphony debuts.
(SFEC, 8/17/97, DB p.45)
1968 The Jefferson Airplane
rock group and manager Bill Thompson (1944-2015) purchased a mansion
in San Francisco for $70,000. It had been built in 1904 by lumber
baron R.A. Vance. In 1985 the 20-room home at 2400 Fulton was sold
for $700,000.
(SSFC, 1/30/11, DB p.42)(SFC, 1/15/15, p.D6)
1968 The film "Bullitt" with
Steve McQueen was released. It had been shot in the SF Bay Area.
(SFEC, 8/11/96, DB, p.39)
1968 The film "Revolution," a
"definitive hippie documentary," by Jack O’Connell was produced. It
opened at the Straight Theater on Haight St. in San Francisco.
(SFC, 7/3/96, p.E4)

1968 In San Francisco the 38
story building at One Post St., designed by Welton Becket, was
built.
(SSFC, 2/17/13, p.C4)
1968 In San Francisco
construction of the 4-part Embarcadero Center began. It was
completed in 1983.
(SFEC, 1/23/00, p.B1)
1968 Japan Center opened in San
Francisco’s Japantown with a Peace Plaza and a 5-tiered pagoda. The
center included the new Miyako Mall, the Miyako Hotel and the
Kintetsu Mall.
(SFEC, 9/20/98, Z1 p.6)(SFC, 2/10/06, p.D1)
1968 Architects Doug Michels
(1943-2003) and Chip Lord founded the Ant Farm in SF. In 1974 they
created "Cadillac Ranch," a sculpture of 10 planted Cadillacs, in
Amarillo, Texas. In 1975 they created the performance work "Media
Burn," in which Michels drove a Cadillac through a pyramid of
burning television sets. Ant Farm disbanded in 1978.
(SSFC, 6/22/03, p.A1)
1968 Gary Arlington (29)
founded America’s first comics store on 23rd St. in San Francisco’s
Mission district. The comics sold for 12 cents. Arlington (d.2014)
closed his store in 2003 after 35 years in business.
(SFC, 1/22/14, p.E3)
1968 Actors from the Living
Theater were arrested in San Francisco for disrobing onstage.
(SFC, 7/14/96, DB p.30)
1968 Chet Helms, operating
under the name "Family Dog," lost his lease and permits for running
shows at the Avalon Ballroom at Sutter and Van Ness.
(SFC, 10/9/97, p.A17)
1968 Bill Graham opened the
Fillmore East in NYC and moved his SF operation to the former
Carousel Ballroom, renamed the Fillmore West.
(SFC,12/13/97, p.A15)
1968 San Francisco Mayor Alioto
greeted King Olav V of Norway with a grand reception at City Hall.
(SFEC, 2/1/98, p.A10)
1968 In San Francisco Andrew
McKinley and Bryan Bilby opened the Adobe Book Shop at 3166 16th St.
(SFC, 4/9/03, p.E1)
1968 Chronicle Books was
founded in San Francisco.
(SFC, 8/7/99, p.A8)
1968 The SF Police formed a
helicopter unit. The city went without police helicopters from 1975
to 1998, when the unit was revived.
(SFC, 1/13/00, p.A15)
1968 In San Francisco Richard
Simmons opened Specs Twelve Adler Museum Cafe just off of Columbus
Ave. and across the street from Vesuvio's.
(SFC, 1/26/04, p.B1)
1968 In San Francisco Walter
Shorenstein announced his plan to tear down the Int’l. Hotel at 848
Kearny and replace it with a parking lot. Stymied by public pressure
he sold the property in 1973.
(SFC, 6/8/01, WBa p.6)
1968 In San Francisco George
Whitney stopped operating Playland-at-the-Beach. It was closed and
put up for sale in 1972.
(SSFC, 7/3/05, p.F6)
1968 Donaldina Cameron
(b.1869), San Francisco social worker, died. She had worked to
rescue Chinese girls sold into prostitution in SF and founded the
Donaldina Cameron House on Sacramento St. for low income Asian
immigrants.
(SFC, 6/18/04, p.F4)

1968-1976 Joseph L. Alioto served as mayor of San
Francisco.
(SFC, 12/19/96, p.A22)

1969 Jan 27, Transamerica
Corp., under the leadership of John Beckett (1918-2010), announced
its wish to build a 1,000-foot tower in San Francisco. Work on the
48-floor Pyramid, designed by architect William Pereira, began in
December, 1969. The 853-foot tower was completed in 1972.
(SSFC, 12/27/09, p.A19)(SFC, 6/28/10,
p.C4)(http://tinyurl.com/2acu688)

1969 Jan, Arthur Bierman helped
organize a faculty strike at SF State College that lasted 2 months.
Bierman became president of the United Professors of California
union in 1971.
(SFCM, 6/9/02, p.15)
1969 Jan, A 50-cent one-way
toll became permanent on the Golden Gate Bridge following efforts to
reduce congestion by Bruce Goecker (1919-2006), former mayor of
Corte Madera. Soon toll bridges around the world began following
suit.
(SFC, 9/14/06, p.B5)

1969 Mar 21, A settlement of
the student strike at SF State College was announced. A School of
Ethnic Studies and an expanded Black Studies Dept. was won by the
students. The administration retained control of hiring and
admissions.
(SFEC, 3/21/99, Z1 p.4)

1969 Apr 15, In SF Officer Rene
Lacau had a fatal heart attack during a struggle with a person
suspected of stealing a car.
(SFC, 1/27/07, p.A8)

1969 May 1, In SF plainclothes
Officer Joseph Brodnick was fatally shot after he and a partner
stopped some youths suspected of burglary. 6 people were acquitted
at trial.
(SFC, 1/27/07, p.A8)

1969 Jul 31, The Zodiac killer
sent a poorly-spelled letter to the SF Chronicle, Examiner and
Vallejo Times-Herald and took responsibility for the July 5
shootings along with a portion of a cipher.
(SFC, 10/2/00, p.A19)

1969 Aug 20, In San Francisco
Perry Butler and his wife Katharine opened Perry’s, a well-lit New
York style saloon, on Union Street. In 2009 they celebrated 40 years
in business.
(SFC, 8/17/99, p.A13)(SSFC, 8/8/04, p.F1)(SFC,
8/20/09, p.E1)

1969 Sep 22, Willie Mays of the
San Francisco Giants became the first baseball player since Babe
Ruth to hit 600 home runs.
(HN, 9/22/98)

1969 Oct, The SF Indian Center
burned down.
(G, Summer ‘97, p.4)

1969 Oct 11, The Zodiac killer
shot and killed SF cab driver Paul Stine (29) at Cherry and
Washington in Presidio Heights. This was his last known murder. His
last authenticated communication was in 1974.
(SFEC, 3/1/98, p.W20)(SFC, 10/2/00, p.A19)

1969 Oct 13, The SF Chronicle
received a letter containing a bloody swath of Stine’s shirt along
with a threat to shoot children on a school bus.
(SFC, 10/2/00, p.A19)

1969 Oct 15, The $100-million,
52-story Bank of America World Headquarters at 555 California St. in
SF, was dedicated. In 1985 it was sold to Walter Shorenstein for
$660 million. In 2005 a Hong Kong group offered $1.05 billion.
(http://continuumacg.net/moody2.html)(SFC,
9/23/05, p.C1)

1969 Nov 9, A group of American
Indians began their occupation of Alcatraz Island. The story is told
in the 1996 book "The Occupation of Alcatraz Island, Indian
Self-Determination and the Rise of Indian Activism" by Troy R.
Johnson.
(SFC, 6/14/96, p. H2)(SFEC, 1/5/97, BR p.8)

1969 Nov 10, The SF Chronicle
received a letter from the Zodiac killer containing detailed plans
for a "death machine" to blow up a school bus.
(SFC, 10/2/00, p.A19)

1969 Dec 7, Lefty O’Doul
(b.1897), American Major League Baseball player, died. He became an
extraordinarily successful manager in the minor leagues, and also a
vital figure in the establishment of professional baseball in Japan.
One of his outstanding accomplishments while managing the SF Seals
was developing the young Joe DiMaggio, who went on to a Hall of Fame
career with the New York Yankees. His fame and popularity lived on
in his hometown of San Francisco. Lefty O'Doul's Restaurant and
Cocktail Lounge on Geary Boulevard, the popular restaurant and bar
he founded still operates. A bridge over McCovey Cove, near the
Giants' home field of AT&T Park, is named the Lefty O'Doul
Bridge in his honor.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lefty_O%27Doul)

1969 Anton LaVey (1930-1997),
American occultist, published his "Satanic Bible" in SF.
(SFC,11/8/97,
p.A22)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_LaVey)
1969 Placido Domingo made his
SF Opera debut in "La Boheme."
(SFEC, 8/17/97, DB p.45)
1969 San Francisco guitarist
Carlos Santana (b.1947) and his band recorded their first album
featuring such tunes as "Evil Ways." Other members included Jose
Chepito Areas (percussionist), Michael Carrabello (percussionist),
David Brown (bassist), Gregg Rolie (keyboardist) and Michael Shrieve
(drums). The band was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in
1998.
(SFC, 1/12/98,
p.E1)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Santana)
1969 The Asian Art Museum was
built in Goldengate Park. The Helen Crocker Russell Library opened
in Goldengate Park.
(SFC, 7/29/97, p.A7)
1969 The 52 story Bank of
America building at Kearny and California was built at a cost of
about $100 million. It rose to 779 feet.
(SFC, 10/3/00, p.A11)
1969 In SF the new high-rise
letterman Army Hospital was built in the Presidio.
(SFC, 6/26/96, p.A20)
1969 The Butchertown area of SF
gave way to redevelopment. A state-owned 7.5 mile stretch from
Fisherman’s Wharf to the Bayview was transferred to SF.
(SFEC, 11/15/98, p.A1)(SSFC, 10/17/04, p.A22)
1969 Norman Jay Hobday
(1934-2011) opened his Henry Africa saloon on the northwest corner
of Broadway and Polk. It was later relocated to Van Ness and
Vallejo. He adopted the name of the bar for himself. The bar closed
in 1986 and in 1987 he opened Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker’s at 2nd and
Minna.
(SFC, 3/2/11,
p.A5)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fern_bar)
1969 In SF Jim Turner and
Charlie Stuart founded the upscale Montgomery Street Motorcycle
Club.
(SFC, 8/21/99, p.A19)
1969 Loni Kuhn (d.1997 at 65)
started her school, Loni Kuhn’s Cook’s Tour in SF. Her
great-grandfather started the San Jose Normal School (later San Jose
State Univ.) and her grandfather helped found the First National
Bank of San Jose (later Bank of the West).
(SFC, 6/26/97, p.A22)
1969 San Francisco's hardcore
pioneer director/producer Alex de Renzy, in his directorial debut
with reputed sexologists Phyllis and Eberhard Kronhausen, conducted
interviews with uninhibited Danes, along with closeups of every
detail of conventional sexual intercourse and depictions of
lesbianism, fellatio, and cunnilingus. A 90-minute version screened
in San Francisco was later confiscated and the film was banned in a
number of states. In the wake of the landmark decision in People v.
Alex de Renzy the documentary film “Pornography in Denmark" went
into wide release.
(www.filmsite.org/sexinfilms21.html)(SFC,
7/12/11, p.E1)
1969 SF Mayor Alioto was
accused of splitting a $2.3 million fee with Washington state
Attorney Gen’l. John O’Connell in a suit against 29 electrical
contractors. He won the suit but the issue forced him away from
governorship of 1970.
(SFC, 1/30/98, p.A10)
1969 San Francisco took over
its declining port from state control. The transfer required that
the port be self-sufficient.
(SSFC, 10/18/09, p.A2)(SSFC, 7/10/16, p.A14)
1969 In SF Charlie Walker
organized local black truckers to protest alleged discrimination in
the construction of BART. He chained his truck to a local BART job
site and made headlines which led to his winning jobs on major
projects.
(SFEC, 6/27/99, p.A14)
1969 Robert LaRue Miller
(1935-2007), artist and self described “painter with light," helped
Frank Oppenheimer (1912-1985) create the SF Exploratorium.
(SSFC, 11/18/07,
p.B6)(www.exploratorium.edu/about/museumhistory.html)
1969 Fritz Maytag bought out
Laurence Steese and took over the Anchor Brewing Co.
(SFC, 3/3/99, Z1 p.9)
1969 Donald and Doris Fisher
founded the Gap in San Francisco. The 1st store opened on Ocean
Avenue selling records and Levi’s. In 1983 Gap acquired Banana
Republic, and in 1994 Old Navy, In 2004 Fisher authored "Falling
Into the Gap: The Story of Donald Fisher and the Apparel Icon He
Created."
(SSFC, 2/15/04, p.I1)(SFC, 1/9/07, p.A9)
1969 In San Francisco
excavations for the Civic Center BART Station unearthed a female
skeleton that dated back some 5,000 years.
(SFC, 8/3/13, p.C3)
1969 In San Francisco the
American Can manufacturing factory at 2345 Third St. closed
operations. In 1975 the two-block American Industrial Center was
sold and converted to units for sub-lease.
(SFC, 12/25/13,
p.A13)(http://aicproperties.com/about-us/)

1969-1975 John S. Hensill (1908-1998) served as
the dean of the School of Natural Sciences at SF State Univ. He
co-wrote the text "Biology of Man," and the life sciences building,
Hensill Hall, was named after him.
(SFC, 2/21/98, p.A19)